Judge: Communities in Pontiac school district can spread tax levy over 10 years

A $7.8 million judgment against the Pontiac School District that's headed to summer tax rolls in the eight communities in the district can be paid over time, a judge ruled on Friday.

Assessors can levy the judgment all at once -- or about 3 mills on tax bills this summer -- or over a 10-year period at a rate of about .3701 mills annually, Oakland County Circuit Judge Martha D. Anderson said in an order.

"The tax bills have to go out around July 1," said Oakland County Corporation Counsel Keith Lerminiaux. "I think there will be some scurrying around next week to get the tax bills out."

The school district includes portions of Auburn Hills, Pontiac, Sylvan Lake, Lake Angelus, Bloomfield Township, West Bloomfield Township, Waterford Township and Orion Township.

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Each community's share of the judgment is based on the size of the tax base that's within the school district. Due to its large commercial tax base, the portion of Auburn Hills within the Pontiac School District is responsible for more than half the judgment, at about $4 million. Taxpayers in Pontiac shoulder about $2 million of the debt.

Pontiac Finance Director John Naglick said the city will be spreading the judgment over 10 years.

"I'm pleased that Judge Anderson's order allows us to spread this over 10 years for the Pontiac taxpayers," he said.

The Bloomfield Township treasurer indicated this week that the township is levying the entire 3 mills on the summer taxes. It wasn't clear Friday how other communities in the school district planned to levy the judgment.

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said in a statement that Anderson recognized the burden of the judgment on taxpayers and found an equitable solution, and said that the school district didn't resist when sued for a debt by the Michigan Education Special Services Association, the health insurance carrier for public school teachers.

"It was a laydown lawsuit. MESSA sued the school board, which didn't resist," Patterson said. "The remedy they reached was to have the taxpayers pay, and they couldn't defend themselves."

MESSA's attorney, Liliana Ciccodicola, could not be reached for comment Friday.

Pontiac schools attorney Tim Gardner filed a motion before Oakland County Circuit Judge Shalina Kumar, who entered the judgment in January, to allow installment payments by communities affected by the judgment. The motion is scheduled to be heard by Kumar on Wednesday.

The judgment was entered in after the financially stressed district didn't pay one year of teacher's health care contributions to the Michigan Education Special Services Association.

MESSA filed the lawsuit before Anderson this month in an attempt to prevent assessors in the school district from levying the judgment over time. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette intervened in the case in favor of allowing communities to levy the judgment over 10 years.

Sen. Jim Marleau, R-Lake Orion, introduced legislation Thursday that would prohibit court judgments to be levied against school districts for operating costs. The bills were prompted by the judgment against the Pontiac School District.